Downstreet Art July Event Features Performances, Exhibits, Bike Ride

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — DownStreet Art returns on Thursday for its July events.

A program of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, the arts fest will feature a variety of musical performances, new art exhibitions, and a community bike ride.

Thread Ensemble of Boston is the convergence of three musicians: Abigale Reisman and Rachel Panitch on violins, and Andria Nicodemou on vibraphone and percussion. Thread formed via an Ensemble Fellowship at New England Conservatory's Community Performances and Partnerships Department in 2012. They will perform original, improvised compositions created in the moment through the use of listeners' experiences.

BOOM Music Stage performers will be The Matchstick Architects and Heart of Gold. Heart of Gold is an acoustic emo project started at MCLA in 2010 by Devan Gardner and wife Brittany Gardner, of Pittsfield.

The Matchstick Architects perform blend of country, blues, folk, jazz and Americana, influenced by an eclectic mix of artists ranging from Lucinda Williams and Aimee Mann to purveyors of the American indie scene, such as The Decemberists. The band is fronted by Dar Maloney (Pleasant Valley, N.Y.) on guitar and lead vocals, and features Tom Conklin (Pittsfield) on lead guitar. DiDi Davis (Barkhamsted, Conn.) plays the six-string bass, and Dave Willey (Becket) plays the drums.

Local writer and rapper Seth Brown also will perform freestyle raps. These raps will be created spontaneously and originally, based largely on suggestions from the people inhabiting the public space of the performance. Freestyle improvisation brings engagement on multiple levels, through rhyme, through freestyle, and through direct interaction.

The aim of this project is to create a convivial space for neighbors to learn from each other and respect each other, to explore the unseen resources of personal knowledge while participating in a lighthearted activity.

Also outdoors, completed parklets will be on display. Inside the galleries, an opening will be held at MCLA Gallery 51 for "3 Second Stories," the work of flipbook artist Tom Olson.

On the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art campus, a site-specific sound installation by Cuban artist Mabel Poblet, in collaboration with composer Andres Levin, "Cynthia-Reeves" will be on display. The Ferrin Contemporary will feature selected work by Kurt Weiser, rhythmical black-and-white designs on large-format linoleum cut prints and ceramic forms, as well as Sergei Isupov's larger-than-life figural sculptures and smaller works.

The Eclipse Mill Gallery is featuring "Sound Machines," which showcases unique, handmade instruments made by local, regional and national artists and luthiers. This group show was curated by Julia Dixon.

At the Berkshire Art Museum is "Volume," a group sculpture exhibition that includes the work of 30 artists.

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